American children spend perhaps 25% of their waking lives in front of TV sets. Although extensive research has been done on the effects of television viewing, particularly on social behaviors, there has been little research on the nature of children's television viewing itself. Most research which has attempted to measure the amount and kind of home TV viewing has used parental questionnaires and viewing diaries, the reliablility and validity of which are unknown. Two studies have attempted to directly observe family TV viewing by means of a camera installed in the home. These studies were beset by methodological problems, small scale in nature, and incompletely reported. The proposed research improves on and extends these two previous attempts by making use of recent developments in video technology and by developing a computer controlled videotape scoring system which allows a far more extensive and detailed data analysis than has previously been possible. The proposed study involves installing a time-lapse video observational system in the homes of preschool children. From the video records so obtained, he proposed research 1) directly tests the reliability and validity of parental viewing estimates; 2) examines in detail preschoolers' home TV viewing; 3) identifies individual TV viewing styles; 4) examines viewers' tendencies to "lock in" to TV viewing; 5) determines factors of the home, child and TV programs that influence amount and kind of viewing; 6) relates TV viewing to development of sex role; 7) relates TV viewing to children's attentional abilities; and 8) relates vewing of Sesame Street to preschoolers' attainment of skills taught by Sesame Street. A series of control groups is employed in order to determine the effects of placing a camera in the home.